Muir Claims Another All-America Honor For FSU
Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University women's track and field squad wrapped up action in the 2011 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Saturday (May 28) in Turlock, Calif.
The Bulldogs earned another All-America honor in the final day of action at the Al Brenda Track Complex located at Warrior Stadium. The NCAA-II Championships were hosted by Cal-State Stanislaus.
Junior Tina Muir (St. Albans, U.K.) earned All-America honors for the second time in the meet by coming in sixth overall in the 5,000 meters with a time of 16:40.48 on Saturday evening. Shippensburg's (Pa.) Neely Spence was timed in 16:17.30 in winning the field of 17 participants. Muir was the highest finisher among four challengers from GLIAC member schools.
Previously, Muir competed late Thursday night and placed fifth overall while earning All-America acclaim in the 10,000 meters with a school-record time of 34:20.99. The top eight performers in each event earn All-America recognition.
Freshman Samantha Johnson (Troy) also competed in Saturday's championship finals and finished 10th overall in the 1,500 meters. She was less than two seconds away from earning All-America honors of her own as she clocked 4:33.38 in the finals. Runa Falch of Augustana (S.D.of) claimed the title in 4:29.49 as the top 10 runners were all within four seconds of each other. Six of the 12 runners who competed in Saturday's 1,500 meter final were from GLIAC member schools.
Johnson had advanced to the finals of the women's 1,500 meters by placing fifth in the first of two qualifying heats with a time of 4:31.48 overall on Thursday in the prelims. Johnson's time in the prelims was third-best on the Bulldogs' all-time outdoor chart.
Ferris State finished the national championships with a total of three All-America performances and nine points in the final team standings.
Freshman thrower Jessica Pilling (London, Ontario/Banton) was the first Bulldog to compete on Thursday and earned All-America honors for the Bulldogs with a seventh-place finish in the hammer throw. Her top toss of 54.33 meters (178-3) represented the second-best performance ever in Bulldog history.
Pilling was among four throwers from the GLIAC to finish among the top seven overall in her event. A total of 17 throwers competed in the hammer throw at the national meet.
Sophomore Alyssa Osika (Waterford/Mott) also took part in the national championships in the 1,500 meters, but failed to reach the finals after clocking 4:40.30 in the prelims on Thursday.
A total of 620 participants, including both 310 men and 310 women, competed in the championships.
Prior to this year, the Bulldogs last had a student-athlete earn outdoor All-America honors two years ago when both Muir and former Bulldog Mikinzie Stuart brought home top eight finishes in the 2009 NCAA-II Outdoor Championships held in San Angelo, Texas.
Visit the link below for complete results from the NCAA-II Championships:
http://www.ncaa.com/content/dii-mens-track-field-live-stats